“This surplus food is breaking down barriers, making people talk, battling loneliness, depression and hunger.”

Growin Spaces, Nottingham

23 October 2018

Growin Spaces cafe is based in the economically deprived Nottingham city centre suburb of Sneiton. Operating out of a church hall, the café serves up delicious healthy meals to those on low incomes, single parents, older people and people with disabilities – bringing the community together over a delicious hot meal.

Growin Spaces supplement vegetables from local allotments with a fortnightly delivery from FareShare – and Steven Doig, the café’s founder, estimates they feed around 70 people a week. Getting surplus from FareShare means they can keep their prices down – a three course meal costs just £2.50.

“This surplus food is breaking down barriers, making people talk, battling loneliness, depression and hunger,” Steven explains. “We have families on very low incomes but they can come here and eat out as a family of four for less than £10.”

“Without FareShare I would just be able to do one pot of spag bol or something like that,” he says. “What they do is nothing short of miraculous.”

Kayleigh Tate, 15, who was born with diplegic cerebral palsy and her grandmother Joan Salmon, who cares for her at home, are regulars at the café and have been coming since it opened.
“It’s the company more than anything,” says the 67-year-old Joan. “We don’t get out much and it’s just a way we can meet people.”

Hannah Euliku, a 36-year-old maths teacher and single mother who attends with her four year-old twins Lydia and Sophie, agrees. “At times coming here has helped me through really rough patches and now I can be here to help support other people,” she says. “I get quite emotional just talking about it.”

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